The Daily Mindflash

The Mindflash Knowledge Sharing and Online Training Blog

Stories are a fundamental part of our humanity. We share them to inform, enlighten, and entertain because they touch our imaginations AND emotions. Therefore it's no surprise that storytelling is one of the most powerful teaching techniques in our arsenal. Because stories can resonate so profoundly with an audience, they're a great way to grab attention, make content more accessible, and make your training “stickier.”

Perpetuating certain myths about training can be an easy way to side-step larger problems. For example, when training fails to take root with the audience, we fall back on the myth of the “bad trainee.” When new ideas about training threaten the status quo, we champion myths about training efficacy that result in solutions suited to our agenda. There’s also the myth that well-designed training doesn’t need to look or function perfectly because, well, great ideas will stand on their own, right?

Having trouble keeping your training lively and memorable? You’re in good company! According to a recent survey we conducted, 51% of trainers reported that making training engaging was their biggest challenge! If you’re having trouble making your training engaging and memorable, look no further. I’ve put together a few free ppt templates to make your training more memorable. Creating good training material first starts with awesome content, but of equal importance is the use of strong visuals elements! But, creating those visuals for your training requires a little bit of effort – especially for trainers who aren’t especially gifted in the area of design.

Whether it's a lack of clarity on the part of senior executives or a lack of resources to execute accordingly there are a countless reasons training projects fail. However there are 3 pitfalls which almost always guarantee a spectacularly bad outcome: (1) No clear target, (2) poor project management, and (3) anonymous trainees. When failure is NOT an option, consider the following ideas for dodging the pitfalls and paving a path to success. [Infographic]

Audio in online training is usually served up in one of two forms: (1) poor-quality, amateurish, or (2) high-quality and professional. No one wants to be responsible for producing great-looking training that sounds awful, but with training budgets being what they are these days it’s hard to justify the expense of high-quality, professionally recorded audio. But leaving audio out of the training mix isn’t a great option, either. Audio serves a vital function — particularly in online training — by breathing life into your material, setting the tone, and grabbing your trainee’s attention.

If summer movie blockbusters have taught me anything, it’s this: no matter how bleak the circumstances—heroes who recognize, embrace, and employ their superpowers will prevail. In reality, most of us are superheroes in our own right, albeit in a less glamorous way (which is good since a blue spandex leotard and cape is a hard look to pull off).

In my last post we examined the use of Active Voice and Passive Voice to help Grammar Phobics write clear and compelling training. Now let’s look at two writing rules traditionally revered by the Grammar Gurus of the world - and why you may want to ignore them.